The invention relates to a vehicle coupling for establishing a mechanical connection between a first and a second vehicle, wherein the vehicle coupling includes a coupling body.
The coupling body and the components which cooperate with same are usually produced by in a casting process, using cast steel or spheroidal graphite iron, or also by welding sheet metal parts. The resulting robust design is necessary under the expected high operating forces in order to avoid deformations and ensure maximum wear protection. However, these designs used heretofore have the disadvantage that the nominal weight of the vehicle coupling is very high, which in turn disadvantageously affects the curb weight of the vehicle, resulting in a correspondingly lower available payload for a specified maximum allowable total weight. A further disadvantage of cast components lies in the risk of formation of inclusions and shrink holes, particularly in regions where localized aggregations of metal are necessary.
Consequently, the object of the invention is to provide a vehicle coupling having a nominal weight that is much lower than known vehicle couplings.